Folding furniture



D 1931- F. MASTRANGELQ ET AL ,7

FOLDING FURNITURE 1931- F. MASTRANGELO ET AL 1,834,792

FQLDING FURNITURE Filed 001:. 21, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 1, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE roLDiN FURNITURE Application filed. October 21, 1929. Serial No. 401,051.

This invention relates to a table and benches adapted to be located in a cabinet built in to the side of a room, or constituting a piece of movable furniture, and to be held 5 normally in vertical position against, or in,

the rear wall and doors thereof and to be unfolded into horizontal position ready for use ,in a very simple manner.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a compact way of mounting'a folding table and benches which can be located, when folded up, in a cabinet built into the wall of a room or can be movable; to provide means whereby the folding of the table and benches can be accomplished in a very simple manner without unhooking any of the parts of the table or the benches and they will be left in vertical position in such condition that when moved outwardly about a pivot they will automatically assume not only the position ofa piece of furniture of that kind but their desired relationship to each other and will be braced properly in that position and to provide folding braces by which the furniture is strengthened. The invention is not limited to a table and benches but can be applied to other types of furniture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of a cabinet with the doors open showing a table and a bench on each side of it to hold it up in vertical position;

Fig. 2 is a side view showing in full lines the table when moved down to position for use and also showing an intermediate position in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and I Fig. lis a view similar to Fig. 2 showing one of the benches in the two positions corresponding to those shown in Fig. 2.

This set of furniture is shown as builtin because it is adapted to be located Within the confines of the wall of the room. The back of the cabinet is indicated by a board or the like 10. Some of the uprights are left out, if necessary, and the cabinet 11 introduced into the wall with only the outer molding outside the front surface of the piece 10. This provides a closet or recess in the wall for receiving the furniture when folded back in vertical position. This cabinet has two doors 10. It can be located anywhere in the room also and not built in, if desired.

Referring first to the table, this comprises a top 13 hinged at 14 to a cleat or the like 15 secured in stationary position to the back wall of the cabinet 11. The table top is provided with a leg 16 which may be made in any desired ornamental shape, preferably of wood, and hinged at 17 to the table top near its end. No rear leg is required because the cleat 15 supports the table at the rear. It is desired to brace the top both from the leg 16 and from the rear wall of the cabinet 11. For this purpose a pair of braces 18 and 19 are provided, the brace 18 being hinged inside of the leg 16 at 20 and the brace 19 being hinged at 21 to a base board 22 or to the back of the cabinet 11. The two braces 18 and 19 are also provided with hinges 23 and 24 respectively at their upper ends which are secured to a slide 25. This slide moves in guides which are shown as in the form of two plates 26 arranged horizontally on the under side of the table top 13 and entering longitudinal slots in the sides of the slide.

It will be seen that, as the two hinges 20 and 21 are stationary and as the two hinges 23 and 24 are fixed to the same element 25, the braces effectively support the table near its center in spite of the fact that the slide is free to move in either direction. They constitute supporting struts to hold up the table and yet when the table top is lifted as shown in Fig. 2, these braces are free to swing from the hinge 21 and they themselves, by the fact that the top of the brace 19 must come downwardly with respect to the table top and pull the brace 18 downwardly, fold the leg 16 as the table top swings back. As a matter of fact the leg 16 is always in practically vertical position.

When'the table top swings back into contact with the back of the cabinet 11 the parts 18 and 19 will also be vertical and lie against it while the leg 16 will lie down in nearly vertical position outside the brace 18. When whole device is held in vertical position by that latch.

In order tobring the table back into position for use it is only necessary to draw back the latch by its handle 27 and the table top will swing-bachbut it is usually pulled back 2 but as the operator will keep it undercontrol at all tiines. It will come down to the full line osition as shown in-Fi 2 Where with- P r b a p V out any man pulation whatever, it 1s left in 5 position for use and Witllth braces 1n posi- ,tiontto-serve. as-supports. L 7 The two' benches preferably are made just alike and on the sameprinciple as the table. Each bench top is hinged to a door -at.31 the benches insteadof having one leg onlyat the-outer end,..have two legs .32 and 33, one at each end'as" the benches have to supporta-heavier load than the-table. In :this'case' the leg '33; is connected by'a' strut 34 hinged at both endsto a door40. This strut is slightly-inclined." Two struts and 36, which in this'instance are shown as offset, Hare-hinged to the legs 32 and 33 respectively -byihinges37 and 3 8 and they are provided with the sameslide25 and the hinges23 and '24- and the guides 26 asshown in Fig. 2.

Itwill be Ob'VlOllSfIOlTl what has been said before that the struts 35 and 36' support the ibench in the center'and-that-both legs, being hinged to thetop, will swing outwardly in substantially the same manner as the leg 16 in the other case; Thezposition of theparts when-folded halfway'up isshown-in dotted ilines inFig, 4. A latch 39 on the door opverating-justlike the latch 28xis employedto hold these parts-back in 'vertical position. The table top in thisoase rests against'the wall of therooin andthe strut 35 is oflsetso that the bottom of the, leg 32 will lie flat against it. Also. the strut i36 is ofl'set'as stated :so th-at-the-leg33 can come in-underit when it is foldedback in vertical position The 0 construction without-departing from the benches are operated in the same way as the J table. These benehesare particularly strong on -account=of the way, in which they are braced and-'they'lie practically flat against the inside of the doors when'they are folded up.

1. In a piece of furniture, the combination with a top hinged at its rear end to a vertical support, two legs hinged to the top, each near one end and adapted to extend downwardly to support the top and both beinga'dapted to swingbackwardly toward thesupport from the hinges, of a-pair ofstruts each hinged at its lower end to one of said legs and extending up at an inclination both to a point near the center of the top,hinged meansfor connecting therear legto the support and a slide on the underside of the top to which both of said struts-are hinged, whereby when the top is folded up on its hinge into a vertical position the legs will move into a vertical position and also the two struts.

2. In a piece of furniture, the combination with a top hinged at its rear end to the inside ofa door of a building, two legs hinged to the top,.each near one end and adapted to extend adapted to swing hackwardly toward the door from their hinges, of a pair of struts each hinged atfits lower end to one of'said legs. ande-Xtending up at an inclination to a point near the center of thetop, a block slidable on theunderside of the top to which both of saidfstruts are hinged, a third strut hinged at .oneend to the same door and at the v.other-endat ahigherpoint to the adjacent- ,leg,.whereby when the top'is folded up on Itshin- 'e into .a vertical Osition the two le s b n will moveinto a verticalpo'sition and also the two struts and a latch for -holding the top against the door and thus holding all parts .of'jthe article. in vertical position. In testimony whereof we have hereunto In both cases-the table and bencheshave I A V substantiallyv the. same characteristic-and although we haveshown a singleembodiment of the inventlonin one sense ofithe word,

lthebenchesdo constitutea slightmodiiicait,ion. We are aware ofthe fact that other modificationsjcan be made in the details of scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore we do not'wishto belim- ,itedto-the details ofconstructionherein disv closed otherwise Tthanas set forth in the c'laims butvwhat we claim is e .downardly to support the top and both being 

